bible blog post Mike Polak May 22nd

May 22

2 Samuel 1:1-2:11

John 12:20-50

Psalm 118:19-29

Proverbs 15:27-28

It's either God or the world can't have it both ways!

When Jesus speaks to the people gathered at the festival, Jesus tells the people the prophecy about his crucifixion. But also, He explains to the people how he knows there are people in the crowd that believe in him and will not follow. Jesus says in John 12:25-26, "The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."

Have you ever had a moment in your life as a believer in Christ where maybe you decided to go with the societal norm of the word instead of just having full belief in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? I sometimes find myself in a situation where I have to decide whether it's going to be God or whatever makes the people of the world happy and not uncomfortable. I usually try to choose God, even though there are times in my life where I don't and I am guilty of that, but for the most part, I do try to make an effort to put God before myself and others. Sometimes it may rock the boat, but God tells us we were never promised happiness in this world, we could never be treated better than He was, and we must make a choice. It's either God or the world, but we cannot have it both ways.

May God bless you. Remember to trust God because when He is with you, who can be against you?

May 15: A Single Stone - Blog Post by Mike Polak

1 Samuel 17:1-18:4 

John 8:21-30 

Psalm 111:1-10 

Proverbs 15:11 

Everybody knows the story of David and Goliath, the story that you're probably most familiar with is that David, a young boy kills the giant Goliath, but I believe the story is more than that.To me this story is about a boy and his full unconditional trust in God. Unfortunately, I feel that sometimes whether it's because of pop-culture movies, or books, that we get the story twisted and we misunderstand what God may be trying to tell us. You see this story isn't about conquering giants in your life, but instead this is a story about having trust in Jesus Christ and believing that God is the one that performs wonders through you. You're not the one performing wonders for God. You're not the one slaying giants in your life, it is God that does that for you when you put your full trust in Him he can do miracles. 

45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel — you have defied him. 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I'll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's. He will hand you over to us." 48 When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. 50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. -- 1 Samuel 17:45-50 

A single stone. Let me remind you that the stone is another name for Jesus Christ, Matthew 21:42 - The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is what the Lord has done and it is wonderful in our eyes? You see it wasn't David's strength or power, it isn't a story about defeating the giants in your life. This is a story about a young boy who truly trusted God, and with that trust Christ himself came down and struck his enemy with a single blow just like we were told in Genesis 3:14-15 - He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. David is a young boy who has fully trusted God, and now knowing that Jesus Christ is the rock and the rock is what strikes Goliath in the head proved to me that God is the one who fights are battles for us. Let's remember to trust God like David did and trust that God will protect and love us. 

May 14: “Obey!” - from Keisha Polak

1 Samuel 15:1-16:23 

John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7 

Proverbs 15:8-10 

Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, 

     and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 

- 1 Samuel 15:22

As I read through the scripture for today, I found myself focused on Samuel's words, and in my head kept repeating "OBEY". 

Saul had continued to disobey the Lord's direct order and when Samuel confronted Saul about his wrong doings, instead of being honest and repenting of his actions, Saul attempted to justify his bad behavior. He claimed, in this situation, that the stolen livestock were for sacrifice. 

In a way, I believe that Saul felt that even though he knew he was doing wrong, he felt he had a "way out" or means of justification because he could perform a sacrifice to attempt to make a sin somehow a holy act. I feel that is something that people do all the time nowadays. Individuals will take advantage of an act of kindness they have shown by using it as a means to justify some other sinful actions they have taken part in. 

If you ask most people if they believe they are a "good person", they will say yes. That is because they are using all of their good or kind moments throughout their life to justify all of their sins, and no one can do that except for Jesus Christ. 

Samuel's words really struck me, instead of using a means to justify your sin, just work on turning away from your sin. Obey the Lord's commands and every day redirect yourself to Him. Saul's life shows me that it is ALL or nothing. Partial obedience is total disobedience. 

May 8: Of Hearing His Voice

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22

John 5:24-47

Psalm 106:1-12

Proverbs 14:30-31

I heard the story of Samuel in the temple maybe 50 years ago, and I was fascinated with the story of a young boy who gets to hear God speak with him ever so clearly - so clearly, in fact, that he can recount everything he heard to Eli the next morning.  How did he do it, and why do I struggle so much and never seem to hear anything quite so clearly spoken?  Three things come to mind.

1. Samuel was in God's presence.  "The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was."  In Old Testament Israel, you couldn't be closer to God's presence than where Samuel was.
   
2. Samuel was listening, and he was prepared to respond.  As soon as he heard someone - the Lord, it turns out - call him, "Samuel answered: 'here I am'".  And he didn't just sit back when he heard the call - he stood up and responded, running to Eli, whom he thought had called him. 
   
3. Samuel had someone to point him to the Lord.  Eli could have just as said "it wasn't me - go to bed" the third time Samuel came.  Or he could have been jealous of Samuel, or angry at God for what He had said He would do to Eli and his family, and told Samuel to ignore the voice.  He didn't.  As sinful as Eli was, he pointed Samuel in the direction of God.

This is how Samuel was ready to hear the Lord when the Lord spoke.  Which makes me ask myself a few questions.  If I really want to hear the Lord, (1) how often do I put myself in His presence?  (2) How hard am I listening…and if He were to speak to me, how prepared am I to respond to Him?  And (3) when I am heading in the wrong direction, who do I have in my life to point me back to Him?

Father, like Samuel, may we always be ready to hear You when You speak, and respond to Your Word.

May 7: Of Parenting Lessons from Hannah

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21

John 5:1-23

Psalm 105:37-45

Proverbs 14:28-29

So let me get this straight.  Hannah, the erstwhile barren wife, tormented by her husband's second wife; Hannah who desires nothing more than to have a son, so much so she prays so hard she is deemed drunk in the Temple - this Hannah who begs God to hear her prayer, she finally gets a son…and then gives him away?   Why?

Hannah knew two things every parent needs to know.  First, she knew where children came from - "Lord Almighty, if You will only look on Your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget Your servant but give her a son…" Hannah knew children were from God, were His to give as He chose.  

Second, Hannah knew what was best for her son.  "…then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life…". As good as it might have been for her son to have stayed with her, even before her son was born, she knew her son was belonged with God. 

I wish when my kids were born that I knew what Hannah knew  I might have appreciated the gift, the blessing they are so much more.  I might have also realized that, for everything I tried to teach them, the best thing I could have done was point them to God, with Whom they belonged, and to Whom they will one day go.  

Father, thankfully it is't too late.  Like Hannah, teach me, and teach all parents, that all our children come from You, and they all belong to You.  Help us to appreciate them, and to point them in the right direction, back to You.

6th May 2021

What a friend we have in Jesus.

Ruth 2:1-4:22

John 4:43-54

Psalm 105:16-36

Proverbs 14:26-27

Ruth's life shows many admirable qualities. She was kind, loving, hardworking, brave and faithful. All these great qualities gave her a good reputation as she was consistent in all areas of her life, her character remained the same. This brings me to think, what are my qualities? Are they consistent with my character? Do we treat a friend or foe with the same qualities?

A good reputation comes by consistently living out the qualities you believe in no matter what group of people or surroundings you are in. We can also look at it as if you were a foreigner or if you are new to a place, do we feel like we need to change in order to fit in or gain a friend. Do others regard you as one who will do what you say? Keeping your word and following through on assignments should be high on anyone's priority list. Building a reputation for integrity must be done one step, one act at a time. 

Ruth may not have always recognized God's guidance, he was with her every step of the way. She went to gather grain and "just happened" to end up in the field owned by Boaz who "just happened" to be a close relative. This was more than just a coincidence. As we go about our daily tasks, God is working in our life's in ways we may not notice. We must not close the door on what God can do. We should have faith God is directing our lives for his purpose. 

Do you ever find yourself behaving one way with one group of friends and then another way with a different group of people? I had to check myself on this as I have recently moved to a new environment where not many of the people believe in Jesus. The new friends that I have made only knew half of me, I found myself starting to behave like them. The Holy spirit was telling me to be honest. I had to be real and consistent with my qualities and not trend on the line of a lukewarm Christian.

Ruth's story may be a story about a girl who was fortunate but in reality the events recorded in Ruth life were part of God's preparations for the births of David and Jesus. Ruth was unaware of this larger purpose in her life, we will not know the full purpose and importance of our lives until we are able to look back from the perspective of eternity. We must make our choice with God's eternal values in mind. Taking moral shortcuts and living for short-range pleasures are not good ways to move ahead.

I pray we live in faithfulness to God and be consistent in how we treat friends and foe. May we remember the miracles God has done, may we humble ourselves and may we have a healthy fear of the Lord. When we are feeling lost and alone I pray that if there is no one that we are able to talk to Jesus, he has all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is holy and always present, he is waiting and listening for us to have a relationship with him,

Amen

--

Aimee Spencer

Matthew Karwon Bible Blog Post May 5th

Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22
John 4:4-42
Psalm 105:1-15
Proverbs 14:25

John Chapter 4
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, 

for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 

24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

For a while now I have been learning about the presence of God in my heart. Such a great positive feeling. 

A light of hope and reassurance when I am feeling unsure and troubled.

I don't believe that this is simply my conscious, but the Holy Spirit sitting on the throne of my conscious.

Whatever I'm feeling, I can count on this form of guidance to help me make the right decisions.

When I read "his worshipers must worship in the Spirit" one thing that comes to mind is this feeling. 

Worshipping not just with spoken words, but the relationship with God that transcends spoken words. 

I feel God in my heart and I am so grateful for this blessing that has helped me overcome more things than 

I can recall in this moment. Part of one of my favorite verses from Galatians Chapter 4 says

"God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts". Proverbs 19:21 tells us  "There are many devices in 

a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand." Thank God.